Paying off loans
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear
Sir
I am regular reader of Islamhelpline. I am a working mother of two children.
About a year ago I took up loan from a bank and have been paying off for about
2 yrs now without any problems. Due to the crisis I have lost my job suddenly,
now am very tensed. From this money i had bought a small house back home.
Unfortunately my husband also lost his job one year ago and unable to find one
till now. I am very scared of aakhirat, what happens if I dont payup the loan
and go away from this country. If i have to pay up then have to sell off the
house, if I sell off the house, where am I going to live and what about my
children, their education, food and living. Please show me a way and let me
know how to face it. I hope my name and details will not be revealed to public.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Paying off loans
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Firstly sister, if you had taken a loan from a
conventional bank on interest or ‘riba’ , without any iota of a doubt, such a
transaction would be categorically unlawful in the Sight of Shariah Law and in
the Sight of Allah Subhanah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 276:
276 Allah will deprive ‘riba’ of all blessings, but He will give
increase for deeds of charity: for He loveth not creatures ungrateful and
wicked.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
Hadrat Ali (r.a.) bin Abi Taalib said he
heard Allah's Messenger (saws) invoke the curse of Allah on those who took ‘riba’, those who paid it, those who recorded it,
and those who refused to give sadaqah.
Your
Question: I am very scared of aakhirat, what happens if I dont payup the loan
and go away from this country.
Respected sister, if indeed you fear Allah and the Last
day, first and foremost you should turn back unto your Lord Most Gracious in
‘taubah’ and seek sincere forgiveness for involving yourself in what has
clearly been declared as unlawful (riba).
Secondly, you should do whatever is in your capacity to
repay back this illegal loan you have taken and make a solemn covenant with
your Lord that you will never ever indulge in what has been declared as
‘haraam’ again.
Your
Question: ….Please show me a way and let me know how to face it.
Respected sister, other than paying back the debt, there
is very little a debtor can do except bear the harshness of their condition…..one
amongst the best supplications one can and should constantly make when in debt
is the one taught by the Messenger of Allah (saws)….it is expected that Allah
Subhanah will cause their debt to be paid even if it were as great as a
mountain.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.131b
Ali related that a slave, who had agreed on
terms of his freedom with his master, came to him and said, "I cannot pay
my master as I agreed in the terms of freedom, so help me." Ali said to him, "Let me teach you the
supplication that the Prophet (saws) taught me. If you say it, Allah
will cause your debt to be paid even if it be as great as a mountain.
Say, 'O Allah, make Your lawful bounties sufficient for me so as to save
me from what is unlawful, and from Your Grace grant me sufficient abundance to
make me free from the need of all except You'."
Related by Tirmidhi.
May Allah Subhanah make your trial easy for you and your
family, and from His Infinite Sources and Bounties provide you with abundance
so as to make you free from the need of all except Him. Ameen.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan